We started our trip early in the morning in Salt Lake City. From there we drove north and after 6 hours we entered the Grand Teton National Park through the South Gate.

Entering Grand Teton

We passed the Moose junction and stopped by famous Moulton Barns in the Mormon Row:

Moulton Barns

It was already afternoon so we decided to find a camping spot. We got one of the last 10 available at Colter Bay. After setting up the tent we decided to do more sightseeing. First, we visited the Jackson Lake Lodge – one of the oldest hotels in the area with the spectacular view at Tetons:

Jackson Lodge lobby

View from the Jackson Lodge Terrace

Next, we drove the Teton Park Road for even better views at the mountains. We stopped at Leigh Lake for an afternoon relax. We also had our first wildlife encounter:

elk

From there we drove further south and took a 1h walk to the Phelps Lake. It was a warm up before the next day.

Phelps lake

On our way back we met a Moose family at the… Moose Wilson road (who would expect? ;)):

Moose family

We closed the day watching the sunset at the Oxbow Bend

Sunset at Oxbow Bend

Tip:

Ticket is 50$ / person / week and it’s valid for both parks. With the ticket you get a detailed park map.

Day 2 – Grand Teton day trip

On the next day we woke up very early and drove to Jenny Lake. On our way there we had again marvelous views at Tetons.

Sunrise at Oxbow Bend

After reserving a camping spot at the Jenny Lake campground we took one of the first boats to the other side of the lake. It was the beginning of our very long day trip. From the boat landing we went up and reached the Inspiration Point after 20 minutes:

Inspiration point

From there we moved on and climbed through the forest to the Cascade Canyon

Climbing through forrest

After a while the forest ended end we were in an open valley leading us to the Lake Solitude.

Valley to Lake solitude

Lake Solitude

Originally it was supposed to be our final destination, but spectacular views made us change our minds and walk further to the Paintbrush Divide.

Views at lake Solitude

Paintbrush Divide

From there we went down through the Paintbrush Canyon, then along the Leigh Lake and finally along the Jenny Lake shore to reach the boat landing and go back to the campground with the last return boat.

It was a very exhausting trip and after a short swim in the Jenny Lake we fall asleep almost immediately. You can tell how tired we were by looking at the tent setup 😉

Tent setup

Tip:

Return ticket for Jenny Lake boat ride costs 15$. You can also choose the one way ride for 9$ and walk back along the lake shore.

Day 3 – Entering Yellowstone, Old Faithfull and Geyser Basins

Next day we drove north to the Yellowstone National Park. The plan for the rest of the week was to drive along the Grand Loop clockwise and see all major park attractions.

First stop on our way was the famous Old Faithful Geyser. It erupts every 1.5h and the water stream reaches 50m of height.

Old faithful erruptio

But there are more interesting geysers in that area. We recommend especially the Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin. Colors are just amazing!

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatics Spring at full glance

Pathway at Grand Prismatic Spring

Some other geysers:

Salty Geyser

Driving further north, before reaching Madison, we recommend to take a de-tour and drive the Firehole Canyon Road. There is a spot where a cold river waters mix with warm geysers. In results you have a perfect spot for afternoon swim!

Firehole canyon

On that day we didn’t manage to find a camping spot inside the park. We drove along the Madison River to the West Entrance and then NW to the Earthquake Lake. Only there we found a free campground.